Ch 1: The Nature of Theatre Has origins in ritual.

Theatre as a form is at least 2500 years old.

Its role or function in society has fluctuated over time.

The value and respectability of theatre has been a matter of debate over the years.

Theatre as part of religious festivals

Theatre as a “dangerous” influence

Theatre as entertainment

Theatre today is created for many different reasons:Light entertainment

Deep intellectual stimulation

Promote awareness of social issues

Stimulate imagination

The Basic Elements of Theatre

3 basic elements of theatre:

1) What is performed (a script)

2) The Performance itself

3) The Audience

The most basic definition of theatre is: someone performing something for someone else.

Tells a story

The textook compares theatre with sports – both rely on conventions (rules or accepted practices)

Both have audiences

Both have spaces in which to perform

Both have specialized clothing

What different conventions can you find between sports and theatre?

Theatre as a Fine Art

Fine arts: products of creativity that cannot be reduced to rules or principles.

Examples of fine art disciplines: Theatre, music, dance, film =

performing arts Painting, sculpture, photography =

visual arts Novels, plays, poetry, short stories

= literary arts

*Art is both an expression of society and a response to it.*

Popular vs. Elitist Culture

Popular culture reflects tastes of the general public.

Elitist culture reflects tastes of a smaller group with more exacting standards.

Elements of Theatre Spectatorship

Willing suspension of disbelief: Refers to the fact that we know

that the events of the play are not real, but we agree that during the experience of the performance not to disbelieve the events of the play.

For example: when a character kills another character onstage, we do not rush to help, yet we may still feel an emotional response to the action.

Willing Suspension of Disbelief allows these two seemingly contradictory elements to occur:

Aesthetic Distance

Being detached enough from the performance to view it with some objectivity.

Empathy

Feeling of involvement with the performers.

Special Qualities of Theatre Lifelikeness: Theatre recreates everyday

experiences.

Objectivity: Theatre presents both outer and inner experience

Complexity: Theatre combines varied elements from all of the other arts.

Ephemerality: Theatre is fleeting, and becomes a part of the past immediately after it occurs.

Immediacy: Theatre involves the simultaneous presence of live actors and spectators in the same room.